Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the First American Settlement on the Pacific eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 227 pages of information about Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the First American Settlement on the Pacific.

Having related this trait of malice on the part of
our captain, I shall be permitted to make some remarks
on his character. Jonathan Thorn was brought
up in the naval service of his country, and had distinguished
himself in a battle fought between the Americans and
the Turks at Tripoli, some years before: he held
the rank of first lieutenant. He was a strict
disciplinarian, of a quick and passionate temper,
accustomed to exact obedience, considering nothing
but duty, and giving himself no trouble about the
murmurs of his crew, taking counsel of nobody, and
following Mr. Astor’s instructions to the letter.
Such was the man who had been selected to command
our ship. His haughty manners, his rough and
overbearing disposition, had lost him the affection
of most of the crew and of all the passengers:
he knew it, and in consequence sought every opportunity
to mortify us. It is true that the passengers
had some reason to reproach themselves; they were not
free from blame; but he had been the aggressor; and
nothing could excuse the act of cruelty and barbarity
of which he was guilty, in intending to leave us upon
those barren rocks of the Falkland isles, where we
must inevitably have perished. This lot was reserved
for us, but for the bold interference of Mr. B. Stuart,
whose uncle was of our party, and who, seeing that
the captain, far from waiting for us, coolly continued
his course, threatened to blow his brains out unless
he hove to and took us on board.

[Illustration: VIEW OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS
Boat and five passengers pulling after Ship Tonquin.]

We pursued our course, bearing S.S.W., and on the
14th, in latitude 54 deg. 1’, longitude 64 deg.
18’, we found bottom at sixty-five fathoms, and
saw a sail to the south. On the 15th, in the
morning, we discovered before us the high mountains
of Terra del fuego, which we continued to see
till evening: the weather then thickened, and
we lost sight of them. We encountered a furious
storm which drove us to the 56th degree and 18’
of latitude. On the 18th, we were only fifteen
leagues from Cape Horn. A dead calm followed,
but the current carried us within sight of the cape,
five or six leagues distant. This cape, which
forms the southern extremity of the American continent,
has always been an object of terror to the navigators
who have to pass from one sea to the other; several
of whom to avoid doubling it, have exposed themselves
to the long and dangerous passage of the straits of
Magellan, especially when about entering the Pacific
ocean. When we saw ourselves under the stupendous
rocks of the cape, we felt no other desire but to get
away from them as soon as possible, so little agreeable
were those rocks to the view, even in the case of
people who had been some months at sea! And by
the help of a land breeze we succeeded in gaining
an offing. While becalmed here, we measured the
velocity of the current setting east, which we found
to be about three miles an hour.